Sunday 20 July 2008
- Bible Book:
- Matthew
"Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into." (v.42-43)
Background
For many early Christians who first encountered this Gospel, theissue of when the end of the world would come was important. Whenwould Jesus return to claim his own? How would the nations bejudged? In Jewish history, and down through time since Christ, atcertain crisis moments in the world this question returns withforce.
The story of Noah (
These stories come as part of the teaching of Christ, whichconcentrated on kingdom values. What folk should do to obey Christis set out earlier in Matthew's Gospel in blocks of teaching. Themost famous of these is the Sermon on the Mount (
Today we might make these same points with reference to sport. Incricket, if the batsman loses concentration and fails to watch theball closely, his innings may be over! 'Concentrate on living thekingdom' is the key message for me. It helps me see the wood forthe trees - most of the time!
To Ponder
What other modern illustrations could you insertinto this story that might make the same point?
Would it ever be important for you to want toknow when the world might end? Why?
How do you balance God's judgement with God'smercy?